- The deal separately covers the sale of Toorak’s roughly $3 billion loan portfolio to a third-party investment firm
- The combination boosts Velocity’s origination scale by 76 percent and servicing scale by 39 percent
- Toorak will keep its brands, leadership and Tampa headquarters after the deal closes
KKR-backed Toorak Capital has agreed to sell its operating platform to Velocity Financial in an all-cash transaction, with the total value of the platform and related portfolio transactions estimated at approximately $3.2 billion.
Toorak has separately entered into agreements with a third-party investment firm for the purchase of its existing business-purpose loan portfolio, which totals roughly $3 billion in unpaid principal balance across whole loans and loans held in securitization trusts.
Toorak provides capital to real estate investors buying, renovating and renting residential properties, offering short-term residential transition loans, ground-up construction loans and long-term rental property loans. Since its 2016 founding, the company has funded more than $20 billion across nearly 43,000 loans and holds direct lending operations in the US and UK, including its Merchants Mortgage & Trust Corporation origination business.
For Velocity, the acquisition expands origination scale by an estimated 76 percent and servicing scale by 39 percent, broadens its product suite, adds a direct retail origination channel, and extends its market reach into the UK.
“John and the Toorak team have built an impressive platform that has meaningfully improved financing options for the real estate mortgage market over the past decade,” said Avi Korn and Chris Mellia, global co-heads of asset-based finance at KKR. “We are pleased to have supported their growth through our asset-based finance strategy and are confident that Velocity will be a strong partner to Toorak going forward.”
Following the deal’s close, expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, Toorak will retain its existing brands, its Tampa headquarters and its current management team led by founder and CEO John Beacham, who will become an executive vice president of Velocity Commercial Capital.
Barclays Capital served as exclusive financial advisor to Velocity, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius as legal counsel. Piper Sandler served as exclusive financial advisor to Toorak and KKR, with Dechert as legal counsel.
Editor’s note: This news brief was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence.